PHILLIES FILES: And Howard's injury status is…

August 03, 2010|By Mandy Housenick, OF THE MORNING CALL

Minutes after someone on Daily News Live said they expected Ryan Howard to miss only about a week with a moderate left ankle sprain, the news release from the Phillies popped in announcing that the first baseman be going on the 15-day D.L.

The news couldn't have come at a worse time for the Phillies. Not only are they inching their way closer to the first-place Atlanta Braves, but all-star second baseman Chase Utley is still out nursing his thumb back to health and Shane Victorino, who leads the club in stolen bases and is irreplaceable in center, is also still on the disabled list.

Howard, who sustained the injury while sliding back into second base on Sunday, is the 15th different Phillie to land on the DL this season. The clean-up hitter was hitting .292 with 23 home runs and an N.L. best 81 RBIs in 104 games.

To take his place on the 25-man roster, John Mayberry Jr. was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Howard is reportedly on crutches, so that was the first clue to me that he wouldn't be back in a week. But the more telling evidence for me that he'd be going on the DL was what happened with Jimmy Rollins a couple years ago.

Remember when Rollins turned his ankle against the Mets on April 8, 2008, and he tried to avoid a trip to the DL? Being the competitor he is, he tried to rest it for just one day before pinch hitting on April 10, 15, 16 and 19. When the pain wasn't getting any better, he finally went on the DL and was there from April 20 until being activated on May 9.

Rolllins was doing what he thought was the right thing, what he thought would help the team. But he didn't give his ankle enough time to heal and he ended up spending more time out than if he had actually just gone on the DL in the first place.

So surely that was in the minds of team officials, doctors and trainers when Howard was evaluated in Philadelphia on Tuesday. They'd prefer to have Howard miss two weeks right now and be completely healthy down the stretch than have just a semi-healthy Howard back in a few days, which could be a detriment in the long run.